Maevy's Corner

Sunday, 8 February 2015

Oh, I know, I have been long gone, and very taken by life's thousand projects. I may not feel the need to come here as often as I used to, but today feels like a good time to show what I am up to and what I have been working on lately. Like this little sheep that I saw on Pinterest and just could not resist making for myself. I like the rustic look of it, and it gave me a good reason to use the wooden buttons I have been saving for years!

In the same spirit as my readings, I have also started watching Growing a greener world, a great TV show that I was unaware of because it just doesn't run on any TV channel that we have at home. Thanks to the magic of internet, I can now regal myself with this show and learn even more. If you want an idea of what can be found in her book Free-Range Chicken Gardens, watch and listen to Jessi Bloom in episode 523.I have just finished watching season 5 of Downton Abbey, which I was certain would be the last one, but just today I read on internet that a 6th season was in the making. I will not complain about it! Now, do you remember Lady Edith's gorgeous green dress from season 4? Well, I have spotted her in another lovely green dress this season. Here is the only picture I could find of this new dress, next to the one from last season. I really do have a soft spot for green dresses!Dans le même esprit que mes lectures, j'ai aussi commencé à regarder Growing a greener world, une excellente émission américaine que je ne connaissais pas encore tout simplement parce qu'elle ne passe sur aucune chaîne de télé que nous avons à la maison. Grâce à la magie d'internet, je peux maintenant regarder tous les épisodes passés et en apprendre encore plus sur les sujets qui m'intéressent. Si vous voulez avoir une idée de ce qui se cache dans son livre Free-Range Chicken Gardens, regardez et écoutez Jessi Bloom dans l'épisode 523.Et puisqu'on parle de télévision, je viens de terminer le visionnement de la cinquième saison de Downton Abbey. J'étais certaine que ce serait la dernière saison, mais j'ai lu aujourd'hui qu'une sixième saison est en préparation. Je ne m'en plaindrai pas! Alors, vous souvenez-vous de la magnifique robe verte de Lady Edith dans la saison 4? Et bien, je l'ai remarquée dans une autre très belle robe verte cette saison. En voici la seule photo que j'ai pu en trouver, juste à côté de celle de la saison précédente. J'ai décidément un faible pour les robes vertes!

There is still much more to enjoy these days. After 25 years, I finally bought myself a new pair of skates and we have taken a habit of going skating in Shannon, where they have the best outdoors ice I have ever seen. I have also gone back to an old love of mine: coloring. My sister gave me one of these new anti-stress coloring books for Christmas, and I enjoy playing with colors. This one here is obviously a work in progress, but I already like the look of it. And finally, I have to mention - and show - the beautiful azalea that lives in my bay window and that has been flowering since November. All these pink flowers are such a soothing sight when all is white outside.Il y a encore tout plein d'autres choses agréables ces temps-ci. Vingt-cinq ans plus tard, je me suis finalement acheté une paire de patins neufs et nous avons pris l'habitude d'aller patiner à Shannon, ou se trouve la plus belle patinoire extérieure que j'ai jamais vue. Je suis aussi retournée vers un de mes anciens amours: le coloriage. Ma soeur m'a offert pour Noël un de ces nouveaux cahiers de coloriage anti-stress, et je m'amuse beaucoup avec les couleurs. Celui-ci est encore en progrès, mais j'aime déjà l'allure qu'il prend. Et finalement, je me dois de mentionner - et de montrer - la très belle azalée qui est installée dans la baie vitrée du salon et qui fleuri depuis le mois de novembre. Toutes ces belles fleurs roses sont réconfortantes quand tout dehors est résolument blanc.

Yes, it is the end of summer already, and although I could have taken more of it, nature is sending clear signals that we have to move on. The garden is going to seeds and looks tired, more and more every day. Birds are molting, getting ready for the long travel south or the roughness of winter ahead.

We had late vacations this year, so I am still at home this week, and took some time to look through the pictures I took over the last two months. I have had the chance to visit many new places and to see beautiful sights. Always, the sun was shining, I felt so lucky. Just last week, we traveled to the south of Ontario, where I had never been before, and this trip felt like a dream. We took the time to wander around in the Niagara region, trying and tasting local products, stopping at farmers markets and fruit stands on the road. It was high season for stone fruits like peaches, plums and nectarines, all so delicious when picked ripe from the trees.

Now back home, we have a few renovations projects to tackle, and I started spending more time in my studio. I have some sewing projects on my mind, and just last night, I was looking at Christmas fabrics on Etsy! I know, we don't want to think about Christmas just now, but by the time I choose the fabrics and get them in the mail, it will be time to get started on holiday projects. Like nature, we have to move on, always.

Thursday, 12 June 2014

Ah, summer, finally. It has been long awaited this year, and I was glad to be on vacation to fully appreciate the gorgeous weather we've had this week. I have spent long days playing in my little garden and in my tiny greenhouse, soaking up the sun and being pretty happy with my simple life.

Thursday, 10 April 2014

All those stamps looked too good to be
thrown away. My stamp-collecting years
are long gone, but I still have a thing for these miniature works of art. There is so much inspiration to be found in their
designs and colors, and they remind me of a time in my youth when the arrival
of a letter with colorful stamps was a celebration. I had pen pals in foreign countries back
then: Germany, Austria, Italy and
Malaysia. Some of these correspondences
lasted until well into adulthood, when emails, and then Facebook rendered them
dated and frivolous.

Stamps have become a rarity these
days. We barely get real mail anymore,
and when we do, envelopes usually have electronically generated stamps in place
of a real stamp. Maybe it is the
surprise of seeing a stamp on an envelope, or the memory of what they once
meant to me, but I still find myself tearing off a beautiful stamp from an
envelope when I see one.